3:46 PM

In Part VII of our Top 50 countdown, we're getting into the era of today's big stars. Good time to restate the criteria:

Some of the 50 fights we'll list aren't necessarily the best MMA bouts, but all of them are milestones for one reason or another, for better or for worse. The idea is to show how the sport has evolved. These are the fights that made the sport what it is today.

These fights in particular pushed the UFC to the status it enjoys today.

31. Randy Couture def. Chuck Liddell, June 6, 2003; UFC 43

Couture was already in his 30s when MMA emerged, and the former college wrestler and Olympic alternate accomplished much in a short time. He won a heavyweight tournament in his 1997 debut, won the UFC heavyweight belt later that year and reclaimed it after returning to the UFC in 2000.

A couple of losses in 2002 set him back. He moved down to light heavyweight, which was in a state of flux because champion Tito Ortiz had gone inactive while a clamor rose for Liddell to get a shot at the title.

The UFC set up an interim light heavyweight belt while waiting for Ortiz to return. Couture, pushing 40 and on a losing streak, may not have seemed like the most imposing challenger against the Iceman and his much-feared punching power.

But Couture stood and banged. Then the experienced wrestler took down Liddell and pounded him out in the third round, becoming the first man to capture major titles in two weight classes.

Before the UFC developed a disdain for loaning its fighters to other promotions, Liddell crossed the Pacific to enter Pride's 2003 middleweight (light heavy, by U.S. classifications) Grand Prix. He took care of Alistair Overeem and set up a match against American Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, who had risen to stardom in Japan over a busy two-year period.

The result was brutal. In the second round, Jackson got Liddell to the ground and pounded him for what seemed like eternity. The referee seemed to be purely ornamental while Jackson slammed his fist into a defenseless Liddell over and over. Liddell's corner finally threw in the towel.

The night wouldn't end well for Jackson, either -- Wanderlei Silva knocked him out in the final, a feat he would repeat the next year with Pride's belt at stake.33. B.J. Penn def. Matt Hughes, Jan. 31, 2004; UFC 46

Penn was a lightweight star who hadn't managed to capture a lightweight belt. He lost to Jens Pulver in his first shot, then drew with Caol Uno in a bout that left the lightweight belt vacant.

Naturally, the simplest path to a belt would be to move up a weight class and face a well-established champion on a 13-match win streak, right?

Penn's jiu-jitsu was a compelling match for Hughes' wrestling, and the once and future lightweight took the welterweight belt with a first-round rear naked choke.

Penn then left the belt hanging, signing with K-1. Hughes reclaimed the belt and got revenge on the prodigal Penn in September 2006 in what may be the last main-event win of his career. Since his return to the UFC, Penn is 0-3 as a welterweight but 3-0 as a lightweight heading into a title defense against Kenny Florian.

34. Chuck Liddell def. Tito Ortiz, April 2, 2004; UFC 47

The long-awaited (or long-avoided, depending on who you ask) matchup between the two light heavyweight rivals finally happened after Ortiz had lost his familiar belt to Couture.

Liddell won by second-round TKO and would go on to take the long-coveted UFC belt in a rematch with Couture. But Ortiz wasn't done, complaining that the Iceman had poked him in the eye. Ortiz hung on with a win over UFC newcomer Patrick Cote, a couple of split-decision wins over Vitor Belfort and Forrest Griffin, and a two more wins over aging Ken Shamrock.

The rematch in 2006, pictured below (photo by Marlene Karas, AP) drew more than 1 million pay-per-view buys. Liddell won again with a third-round TKO.

A reality show on Spike was a big gamble for the UFC, one that paid off beyond anyone's dreams. The drama of seeing fighting prospects, some of whom didn't behave particularly well once confined to a house with fellow fighters, drew viewers. USA TODAY's Money section took notice.

The finale took full advantage of MMA's biggest stage in the USA to date. Griffin and Bonnar, the light heavyweight finalists, swung at each other like madmen and won the sport a new audience.

UFC President Dana White called it "the most significant fight in UFC history" as recently as last summer. And it wasn't even the main event on the card -- that was a win for rising star Rich Franklin over Ken Shamrock.

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